Ideation and idea picking

Initial characterization

The first questions we have to address are "who are our users?" and "what are our limitations?" Once both have been answered, brainstorming can begin.

Target users

10-12 years old

have access to food, water, housing, and some form of electricity (i.e. XOs can be recharged)

have either XS or direct internet access

Ideation

We started by describing what qualities an interaction with our creation should have, and then brainstorming ideas (rule #1: there are no bad ideas in phase 1 brainstorming) that would then be narrowed down. Considerations when narrowing the range of ideas include desired interactions, limitations of the XO, and budget/timeline.

What kind of interaction do we want?

FUN!

related to livelihood

does it need to be tethered to the XO?

encourage interactions between kids (collaborative)

challenge

something that can't already be done on an XO

What do we have to work with?

microphone

trackpad

speakers

input sensors

USB

Brainstorming

minesweeper

compass

inertial navigation

pedometer

karaoke

music keyboard

accessibility

interactive globe

abacus

dummy GPS

flow rate sensor

weather sensor

tablet for drawing

geospatial art

USB pet

physical location tamagotchi

USB furby

Idea refinement

After discussing various ideas and gauging team interest/enthusiasm, we narrowed our options down to three ideas:

geospatial art

USB pet

mesh weather sensing

Final design idea: "geospatial art", the idea of making art on the XO by interacting with the physical world (running around)

User considerations

User values

Creating a set of user values, designer values, and parent/teacher values gives us a lens through which we can evaluate our ideas. It also provides a basis for requirements that will lead to technical specifications.

User values

friendship

fun

exploration

visible progress

storytelling

satisfying curiosity

freedom/autonomy

uniqueness

peer respect

Designer values

ease of use

fun (to build)

encourage collaboration

functionality

cheapness

versatility

interactions understandable by 5 year olds

durability

safety

encourage physical activity

Parent/teacher values

"will it keep kids occupied?" - entertainment

encourage collaboration

enjoy with kids

safety

cost/money

education

Interaction narrative

Interaction narratives show how a user would interact with a product, highlighting changes that the product would make and clarifying what the design is and why it is compelling.

Requirements

From our user values and practical limitations, we can abstract a set of technical requirements for our project.